Pups & The Funeral
by Elias Vincent
Summary: Adventure Bay gathers to put the victims of Aaron Zandresky to rest. How will Elias cope with the proceedings & will he be able to stay strong despite the bad memories of what happened to him?


**PUPS & THE FUNERAL **

**I DON'T OWN PAW PATROL ONLY MY OCS**

It was Friday morning. Everyone in Adventure Bay was in a sombre mood. The funeral of the victims of Aaron Zandresky was to be held in town that afternoon after school. The reason it was being held there was because the families of the victims wanted to meet Elias since he helped bring Aaron to justice. Everyone in town along with the families & close friends of the victims would be attending. As Elias got up that morning he felt concerned.

" _It's going to be hard not to cry this afternoon. I don't know how composed I'll be. At least now the victims can finally be put to rest"_ thought Elias as he got dressed  & went down for breakfast.

"How are you feeling Elias?" asked Ella.

"It's hard to explain. All I know is that today will be hard on everyone involved with this funeral. Thinking about it makes me feel a little bit sick" said Elias.

"We'll be there for you the whole time. We aren't going to leave your side" said Ethan.

"Thanks. Well I guess I better get going" said Elias as he walked out the front door & waited for the bus. During the ride to school the funeral was all that Elias could think of.

" _Every minute that passes makes me feel more & more anxious. All I hope for is that I don't end up completely falling apart"_ thought Elias.

The school day seemed to go by slower than usual. Mere seconds felt like hours. Quite a few people were talking & thinking about the funeral that afternoon. Elias stayed very quiet throughout most of the day. At recess he sat on the swing set feeling quite melancholic.

" _I'm feeling really weird. I really hope this feeling goes away. I don't want to feel like this anymore"_ thought Elias.

Elias didn't say much of anything throughout the next 2 periods. At lunch he discussed his feelings with his friends.

"I really don't feel good right now at all. The funeral is only an hour & a half away. Thinking about it gives me the chills" said Elias.

"I feel the same way. I'm sure everyone else does too" said Ace.

"I don't think there will be a single dry eye during the funeral. Everyone will be crying for sure" said Carlos.

"This is the 1ST funeral I'll be attending in my whole life. I don't know what to expect" said Danny.

"The fact that the people we're remembering are all children is even more heartbreaking. All of them were under 18 when they died" said Katie.

"It's sickening to know that their lives ended all because of a psychopathic sadist who got sexual pleasure from his victims' suffering. That's just wrong" said Ryder.

All of them shared a group hug. They knew it wasn't going to be easy for any of them. Throughout last period Elias wished that it would never end. He wasn't sure if he was ready for what was coming.

" _I don't know if I can do this. The funeral begins in less than an hour. I'm feeling unwell. I just want to throw up"_ thought Elias.

After the bell rang to signal the end of the day everyone headed home to get ready for the funeral. Elias was feeling quite overwhelmed. It felt like at any moment he would break down.

" _I think I'm losing my mind. I just wish this didn't have to happen. If it wasn't for Aaron these kids would still be alive. This isn't fair. They deserve to live while he deserves to die"_ thought Elias.

After getting dressed in his formal wear Elias joined his parents in the kitchen. All of them walked to the cemetery together. There was a sombre feeling in the air as they walked.

"How are you holding up Elias?" asked Angel.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I can do this" said Elias.

"If you need a moment to yourself during this funeral just let me know & we'll find a place to have some time alone" said Angel.

"Thanks Angel. I'll keep that in mind" said Elias.

As they arrived at the cemetery everyone else was already there. Elias felt the eyes of everyone in attendance on him as he & his family went over to their seats. Shortly after everyone was seated the coffins containing the 12 slain children were brought in. Almost everyone started crying when they came into view. It was a heartbreaking sight. After the coffins were put in place Mayor Goodway addressed the attendees.

"Welcome everyone. We are here today to pay our final respects to 12 young angels whose lives were cruelly taken away from them by an evil man. Even though none of us here in Adventure Bay knew them in person our thoughts & prayers are with them. 1ST we'll let the families & friends of the victims have the time to recall the memories they had with the victims" said Mayor Goodway.

1 at a time the families & friends of the victims were brought up to recall the fond memories they had of their friend, son, daughter, sibling & relative they knew before they were tragically killed. After all of them finished Mayor Goodway addressed everyone again.

"Thank you for sharing your memories. Now we will hear from the young man who brought the killer of these kids to justice. I present to you Elias Vincent" said Mayor Goodway.

Elias gulped as he went up to the stage & addressed everyone in the crowd. Angel stood by his side the entire time.

"Hello everyone. My name is Elias Vincent. I'm the only survivor of the man who did this. I'd like to start by saying how sorry I am to the families & friends of the children that were killed by Aaron Zandresky. I know it's not my fault that they died & that I shouldn't feel guilty for something that was out of my control but I can't help feeling this way. The fact that I went through what all these guys did & still lived to tell the tale is what I think is the most devastating aspect. Aaron Zandresky caused nothing but pain for all of us. I have suffered so much because of what he did to me. The only good thing that can come of this is that he's now behind bars awaiting trial for his disgusting crimes. Whether he gets locked away for the rest of his life or he gets put to death by lethal injection I hope he suffers for what he did. I wish we could have the power to bring back all of his victims & let the devil take him in their place. He should burn in hell for all eternity for what he did. I know I'll probably have to testify at his trial & when I do I'm going to look him straight in the eye & tell him how I really feel about him. If he gets the death penalty I hope I'm there at his execution to watch him take his last breath as the lethal injection is administered to him. I will never forgive him for what he did & seeing him get what he deserves will make me really happy. Once we all get closure on this we can move on with our lives & not let him get in our way. I may be just 10 years old but I'm not weak. I'm stronger than I may appear. I will stand strong no matter what happens in life. I encourage you to do the same. Thank you everyone" said Elias.

Everyone in the crowd gave Elias a standing ovation. Elias took his seat & wept uncontrollably as Mayor Goodway once again addressed the crowd.

"Thank you for that Elias. Now that we've all had our chance to speak it's time to finally put these angels to rest" said Mayor Goodway.

The coffins were lowered into their graves 1 by 1 as the song "1 Sweet Day" by Boys II Men & Mariah Carey played. Everyone broke down crying. Elias fell to his knees & held Angel in his arms. After the graves were filled in again everyone went to the Lookout for the reception. Elias met with the families & friends of the victims. It was an emotional experience talking to them about what had happened. All of them thanked Elias for bringing Aaron to justice & helping find out what happened to the victims. At 1 point Elias went out to the balcony of the Lookout to have some alone time.

"How are you feeling now that you've opened up Elias?" asked Angel.

"I feel a lot better. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. All that's left to do now that this is all over is to testify at Aaron's trial & if he gets the death penalty to also witness his execution. I don't want to live with the memories of what happened forever" said Elias.

The reception was pretty good. Everyone had a good time & the mood was a lot better now that the funeral was over. Eventually everyone went their separate ways. Angel & Elias went with Everest & Jake for another weekend of respite.

"Your funeral speech was quite touching Elias. Well done on standing up there in the face of fear. You're very brave" said Everest.

"I agree. Your speech was quite deep. Good on you for reaching out & speaking about what you went through. That took a lot of guts" said Jake.

"Thanks guys. Hopefully I can move on from this whole ordeal for the most part. Me & my parents plan to stay in contact with the victims' families & friends. That way we can all grieve together no matter what" said Elias.

After arriving at Jake's cabin everyone settled down & watched some TV. Later that night as Elias got ready for bed he thought about how everything had turned out.

" _Today was probably 1 of the hardest days of my life. Thank god I managed to pull through. It wasn't easy but I stayed strong. For now I just want to go on with my life & not let the memories of my ordeal cloud my brain. I hope Aaron enjoys the time he has as he probably won't get any leniency for what he did. I'll see you in court Aaron"_ thought Elias as he fell asleep.

 **THE END**


End file.
